Day Six: Spokane, Washington to Portland, Oregon - 353 miles

I still can't quite believe that I actually drove myself and two cats all the way from Washington Heights to Cedar Hills. Altogether I put 3,154 miles on the rental car. What a silly thing to do! But I had a great time. Seriously, I'm ready to do it again. Ermm...maybe not tomorrow, but it's definitely something I'd like to plan again. I think the cats are game. It might be nice with a *friend*.

I am in awe of this beautiful country. How lucky we are to live in such a rich, bountiful part of the world. I only wish I'd had more time to explore and enjoy, rather than just randomly click photos as I sped past all this beauty at 75 miles an hour. From the Delaware Water Gap to the Wisconsin Dells to the Mississippi River to the Badlands of South Dakota to the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River Gorge, it was a fantastic, awe-inspiring journey. While I'm glad to be home, at last, I am sorry the journey is over. I truly had a great time.

Today was fairly easy. We left Spokane just after 8:00 this morning, and enjoyed a warm, bright morning in the farming country (apples and wineries) of Washington's Columbia plateau. It wasn't long before we found ourselves in Oregon, and it was fascinating watching the climate change from being arid and rocky with a few scraggly bushes to lush green pine forest in the space of about 130 miles.



Thanks to the bright, clear weather, we had fantastic views of Mt. Hood.


We made it to the city just after 2:00 in the afternoon; what an odd feeling it was, watching the skyscraper affectionately known to locals as "Big Pink" begin to rise over I-84 as this long ride came to a close. It is hard to believe that this is "home" again; I'm not just visiting for a long weekend, I'm not heading back to New York and my familiar apartment in a few days, I'm here. Here for now. Time to find a new job and a new home and a new life.